No. 8 Maryland cruises past Florida State
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}College Park, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Katie Rutan and Alyssa Thomas led eighth-ranked Maryland to an 87-77 victory over Florida State on Thursday.
Rutan and Thomas scored 24 and 22, respectively, while the latter added 12 rebounds for the Terrapins (21-5, 8-4 ACC), who have won five of their last six. Lexie Brown added 14 points and four assists for the hosts.
Natasha Howard led the way for Florida State (17-9, 5-8) with a game-high 35 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five steals. Morgan Jones added 18 points for the Seminoles, who have lost four of their last six.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Seminoles traded baskets with Maryland through the first five minutes before the Terrapins used a 19-6 burst to take a 30-16 lead. Florida State pulled back within 10, but, Maryland pushed the spread to 18 points, 53-35, before the break.
The Terrapins sailed to the finish despite allowing Florida State to crawl back within eight points in the final minutes.